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Chapter 11: On the move again
The Hanson’s stay in Ecuador was only to be three months. The isolation of the camp kept them from sightseeing but they were quite happy within the confines of the compound.
Diana was kept busy taking care of their home schooling needs, adjusting
their curriculum and study habits as she progressed as their primary
teacher.
Walker helped in grading their papers and reading their essays.
The
boys thrived on the new schooling schedule. They only had
to study
for three-a-half to four hours a day and their work was complete.
That left a lot of hours to study their music and singing.
Zac was now part of the harmonizing brothers although at almost four he
was quick to tire of the lessons and often he would run off to play in
the middle of their practice sessions.
Diana let the boys set their own pace for their music lessons.
If Zac or Taylor would rather play, she let them. Ike was totally
consumed by music. He was mastering
the keyboard successfully and trying his best to master the guitar
even with the limitations that he had because of his short arms.
Taylor was also consumed by the music, but he was only interested in the
keyboard. He had his own internal beat that made him tap and
thump on everything in sight. It was very annoying, and they tried
very hard to ignore it. Taylor was spending more time playing on
the keyboard than trying to sing. He had lost four front teeth and
his permanent teeth were
slow in growing to replace them. When he sang, there was a
slight
lisp to his words that he couldn’t help and it made him upset.
Ike was beginning to make up new words to old songs that the boys
were singing and sometimes they would hear him singing lyrics that were
newly made-up. They were short pieces that he would teach to his
brothers and they would sing the little
songs for hours perfecting them. Then, Ike would record them
on cassette
tape and they would play them back and try to improve on the sound.
Their time in Ecuador was over quickly. Walker got his orders and this time it was for the Island of Trinidad. Soon, Walker was bringing home boxes and the ritual of packing began again. Pack and weigh, evaluate and discard. But, now it was late August and that meant they were that much closer to going home. They didn’t talk much about home in the family.
It made them feel too lonely and miss their loved ones too much.
Only when they would get letters and packages would all the memories
and
feeling come swooping down on them. Oklahoma seemed so far
away.
Diana was stitching a Home Sweet Home needlepoint that she planned
to have
framed and hang proudly as soon as they got back to Oklahoma.
During
this move, Walker didn’t even consider leaving the guitar behind.
He and Diana discarded some of their own belonging in order to make
the
weight allotment. Taylor was clinging to the keyboard tightly,
deeply
afraid that it would get left behind too.
Ike and Taylor worried about the children that they fed every morning, so Walker went to visit the Padre of a local parish church and made arrangements and a donation to him to ensure that the food would continue.
The only person that they had gotten attached to in Ecuador was their
dear friend Jerry. He too, with their encouragement, had decided
to return to the Oklahoma.
He would be returning to the company headquarters and would begin
college
in the fall. After their serious urgings, Jerry had reestablished
contact with his estranged mother and was planning on becoming reacquainted
with her when he returned stateside. She and her new family lived
in Texas so the distance was manageable.
The Hanson family and Jerry hugged each other tightly at the airport.
Jerry was leaving on one plane, they on another and in separate directions.
The boys were very upset at losing their friend and Jerry promised the
boys that he would visit
them just as soon as they gave him an address, when they returned
to Oklahoma.
The boys wouldn’t let him go until he promised to be at their birthday
parties--Zac’s in October and Ike’s in November. Jerry hugged the
boys for one last time, and asked them to sing him a little song to hold
him until he got to see them again.
Ike, Taylor and Zac with Ike snapping his fingers jumped right
into a three part harmony of Splish Splash. Everyone in the small
airport stoppe d talking and was listening to the three young towheads
singing with high pitched enthusiasm. When it
was over, the listeners applauded and Jerry gave the boys one last
hug before he boarded the plane.
A few minutes later a sad and weepy young family boarded their own plane for the next phase of their own adventure.